Despite the cold snap that has dropped in on us this week, spring is arriving in northwest Florida. Pollen is coating cars, azaleas are in bloom, and bees are buzzing all over our blueberry bushes.

During a recent trip to the trails along Shoreline Park in Gulf Breeze, we saw lots of healthy young cinnamon ferns (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum). Ferns in general prefer deep shade and wetter, acidic soils, thriving particularly in freshwater wetlands. They are members of an ancient group of plants that were among the earliest  to thrive on the planet. Because of this early evolution, they developed a different method of reproduction.

Instead of the heavy investment of energy required to produce seeds, they instead regenerate via tiny spores. Spores are single-celled reproductive units that are released by the plants then broadcast to new locations by the wind. In most varieties of fern, the undersides of the fronds have small containers called sori where spores reside and are released.

The cinnamon fern differs from other fern species, as it produces a separate bloom (cinnamon-colored) stalk full of sporangia, a spongelike structure that holds hundreds of thousands of spores. The reddish stalk sits erect, providing a stark contrast among the green fronds.

Young ferns emerge in a spooled formation called a fiddlehead. It is spiraled and eventually unfurls and spreads its leaves to become a typical frond. Healthy cinnamon ferns in ideal conditions can grow as large as 6 feet tall, although more frequently they are 2-3 feet. The fiddleheads are covered in a silvery fuzz, a material that makes them popular with nesting birds.

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